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On The Use of Mythology in Astrology
Posted by Chris Brennan on March 6, 2008 at 5:23 am5 Comments

I wrote this paper on the use of mythology as a

device in astrological delineations a few years ago while I was still attending Kepler College . I
think that I initially wrote the paper because I was kind of annoyed by the subject matter and I
wanted to focus on more precise techniques, having just had my first introduction to Hellenistic
and Indian astrology a few months earlier. At the time I was also rather excited by some of the
arguments that Robert Schmidt was making about the conceptual origins of the Hellenistic
tradition and the possible the influence of Platos Timaeus on the original cosmological model of
the astrologers, as you can tell in the paper. The paper is pretty amateurish, and I would probably
write it a bit differently now, but Ill present it in the original form with only a few slight
modifications since gist of the argument towards the end is still essentially the same as what I
would make at this point in time.
This isnt a technical paper on how to delineate charts using mythology, but it is actually more of
a theoretical argument against using mythology as a core tool in delineations. I should point out
that Im not trying to denigrate anyone who is a proponent of such an approach, and I have a
number of good friends who regularly employ mythology in chart delineations, but this article is
more of a rationalization of my own reasons for not doing the same as the basis for my own
practice.
The Place of Myth in Astrology
Horoscopic astrology appeared in the Mediterranean area sometime around the 1st or 2nd
century BCE and it was heavily influenced by the philosophy of the earlier Athenian and
Hellenistic philosophical schools, particularly that of Plato (437-347 BCE). Robert Schmidt has

recently proposed that the entire apparatus of horoscopic astrology was a theoretical construct
devised by one person, or one group of people, over the course of one or two generations based
off of the Platonic notion that the cosmos is a living, sentient animal, with a body and a soul.[1]
Furthermore, Schmidt argues that this cosmic animal possesses a rational consciousness that is
capable of knowing the events that befall individual human beings, and the observable
astronomical phenomena that are studied by astrologers are actually believed to be expressions
of thoughts that take place in the cosmic consciousness of this animal.
Following this basic premise it is thought that the preexisting astrological traditions derived from
the Babylonians and the Egyptians were synthesized and used as the basis of an intricate and
precise construct which could be used to read, translate and interpret the thoughts of the cosmic
animal as they occur relative to individual human beings or events. The technical language of
astrology was based upon the attempt to use the multifaceted nature of the Greek language to
convey concepts of a universal character in a very specific way. Schmidt argues that the meaning
of the astrological concepts were implicit in the language and grammar used, and much of the
significance derived from the system was indeed inseparable from the language itself. It appears
that the language used in the surviving texts from the Hellenistic astrological tradition was
grounded in a concrete theoretical structure that was multivalent enough so as to not warrant the
use of analogy, similes or mythology because the words used were able to convey a very precise
message through the complex linguistic wrangling of the ancient Greek language.
While the planets themselves were named after the gods of the Greek pantheon centuries before
horoscopic astrology came out of Alexandria, nowhere in any of the Hellenistic astrological texts
is there made a direct correlation between the mythology of the gods and the significations of the
corresponding planetary bodies that bare their names. The connection between the names of the
celestial bodies and their corresponding myths in an interpretive astrological context does not
appear to have been made in the western astrological tradition until sometime in the 20 th century,
and thus it is a relatively new innovation with respect to the history of horoscopic astrology as a
whole. As a relatively recent development in the western tradition, this method of chart
delineation should be reexamined within the context of ancient and contemporary astrological
system alike in order to determine the applicability of mythology to the astrological construct as
a whole, from both a theoretical and a practical standpoint.
Origins of the Use of Mythology in Modern Astrology
According to Demetra George in a lecture given to the Washington State Astrological
Association at their meeting in March of 2005, the first modern astrologer in the west who seems
to have explicitly used mythology to glean information about the nature of the planets was Liz
Greene. In the opening paragraph of her first book, Saturn, a New Look at an Old Devil, Greene
states
the stuff from which myths and fairytale are composed is a symbolic portrayal of the values of
the collective unconscious psyche of man. [2]
From this basic premise Greene goes on to make analogies between the various myths and
archetypes of the Saturn/Kronos character in Greek mythology, with how the planet Saturn can
be interpreted by astrologers in a horoscopic chart. She says in her closing remarks that
a symbol cannot be comprehended by words but must be approached though the intuitive
facility
Thus the use of mythology in modern astrology from its introduction was a tool used to
emphasize the intuitive function of the art so that broader concepts could be conveyed, and it was

done largely in order to makeup for the limitations of modern language and to convey the full
complexity of certain astrological concepts.
In Greenes book she draws heavily on the work of one of the psychologist Carl Gustav Jung
(1875-1961), particular some of the main concepts that he proposed during his lifetime such as
the notion of archetypes, the collective unconscious, and the theory synchronicity. In his 1917
work On the Psychology of the Unconscious Jung explains the collective unconscious and
archetypes in the following manner:
The unconscious contains, as it were two layers: the personal and the collective. The personal
layer ends at the earliest memories of infancy, but the collective layer comprises the pre-infantile
period, that is, the residues of ancestrial life. Whereas the memory-images of the personal
unconscious are, as it were, filled out because they are images personally experienced by the
individual, the archetypes of the collective unconscious are not filled out because they are not
forms personally experienced. On the other hand, when psychic energy regresses, going even
beyond the period of early infancy, and breaks into the legacy of ancestrial life, then the
mythological images are awakened: these are archetypes. [3]
Demetra George elaborates on the matter of the archetypes in her book Asteroid Goddesses
Archetypes are the essential universal thought forms available to human consciousness during all
periods of time. [4]
By incorporating these definitions of the collective unconscious and the archetypes with
Schmidts argument that the Hellenistic astrologers considered the universe to be a living
creature whose thoughts could be read through the movements of the celestial bodies, perhaps
we could speculate that the collective unconscious that we draw upon is somehow connected to
the consciousness of this living cosmos that we reside inside of. Perhaps the archetypes or
concepts inside of that consciousness are available for all of humanity to draw upon and they are
somehow intertwined with the thoughts of the cosmic mind, as expressed by the movements of
the celestial bodies. The archetypes are somewhat general in character though, because they are
essentially broad, undirected concepts, of a universal nature and they are not as specifically
focused because they occur everywhere in our world and not just through the specific language
of astrology. One could argue that astrology itself is a structured, or systematic attempt to
translate the multivalent conceptual cognitions of the cosmos into a language in order to reveal
precise thoughts, and thus the use of mythology to further illustrate certain broad archetypes
would be something that would be an addition to an already complicated system, since by nature
mythology is general in its character and meaning, whereas astrology can be more specific
insomuch as it is a language.
Other languages in the ancient world eventually supplanted classical Greek, which was used to
develop Hellenistic astrology, and when ancient Greek died as a spoken language it took with it
much of the meaning inherent in the original astrological concepts. Astrology was translated into
other languages numerous times and was transmitted to several other host cultures, going
through transformations each time to the different belief systems, languages and cultural customs
of its hosts. In each instance astrology was adapted to its host cultures. Although there were often
deliberate attempts to retain the original intent and meaning underlying the technical
terminology, in the process of these transformations and adaptations much of the meaning of the
technical language was changed or forgotten. By the time astrology was revived in the English
speaking world in the 20th century there was very little of the original theoretical and interpretive
edifice left. Western horoscopic astrology was lacking the type of philosophical and technical

depth that it once had, not to mention the intimate understanding of the languages were used in
the previous traditions in order to come to a deeper understanding of the intimate details of the
system. After the development and proliferation of Jungs psychological concepts it was only
natural for them to be adopted and refined by astrologers because they provided a type of
consistent theoretical basis that had been lacking. Not surprisingly, much of Jungs own work
was directed towards investigating the concepts of myth and symbolism, as it exists in the
psyche.
The Use of Myth Now
One could argue that the use of mythology to describe astrological concepts was developed and
utilized by astrologers in the 20th century largely due to the inadequacies of the modern
astrological construct and the technical terminology that was available at the time, as well as the
need to find a better way to convey the cognitions of the cosmic mind. Mythology isnt a precise
translation of those concepts or cosmic cognitions though, but rather it is more like a rough
outline or allegory of the astrological concepts. It lies completely separate from the entire
astrological apparatus in it of itself, almost as an overlay to the initial information that can be
gleaned from the placements in a horoscopic chart. This is because astrology is not
fundamentally mythological, or perhaps even archetypical at its core, but rather it is a very
precise language, albeit one that can be translated into many different conceptual paradigms,
including the mythological and archetypal realms. However in doing so it looses a certain
amount of precision that is inherent in the language of astrology itself, because myth is naturally
predisposed to being imprecise, and thus the meaning is generalized and non-specific.
Thus, while mythology should be used to help elucidate and convey certain messages, stories and
feelings, it should not be done at the expense of the technical accuracy or integrity of the system.
Therefore mythology should be treated more like a type of garnish or as the figurative icing on
the cake of the astrological apparatus itself, as it does not constitute the core of the system.
Endnotes
1. Robert Schmidt, Kepler College Sourcebook of Hellenistic Material with Commentary, Project
Hindsight, Cumberland, MD, 2003, pgs. 4-5.
2. Carl Jung, On the Psychology of the Unconscious in Two Essays on Analytic Psychology,
Meridian Books, Cleveland, OH, 1965, pg. 87.
3. Liz Greene, Saturn, A New Look at an Old Devil, Samuel Weiser, New York, 1977, pg. 9.
4. Demetra George, Asteroid Goddesses, ACS Publications, San Diego, CA, 1986, pg. 12.
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Related Articles:
1. The Transmission of Hellenistic Astrology to India

2. Robert Schmidt on Hellenistic Astrology part 1

3. The Questionable Origins of the Exaltations in Astrology
4. What is Horoscopic Astrology?
5. The History of Western Astrology
Article tags: archetypes, Hellenistic astrology, mythology

About Chris Brennan

Chris is a practicing astrologer from Denver, Colorado, USA. He is the former President of the
Association for Young Astrologers, as well as the former Research Director of the National
Council for Geocosmic Research. He offers personal consultations and teaches online classes
through his website at www.ChrisBrennanAstrologer.com.

5 Comments

sunrunner says:
March 9, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Just a quick note before I spend some time reading your article more carefully.
The image you chose is tres interessant: Bottecellis Birth of Venus, which is part of a
larger work that included the painting Spring, and together they comprise an
astrological-mythological allegory painted by Bottecelli based upon indications provided
by Marsilio Ficino in the 16th century. In Ficinos Book of Life (Kaske & Clarke
translation) in Book 3, he explains the astrological/allegorical symbolism behind
Spring in a chapter called The Three Graces are Jupiter and the Sun and Venus. Jupiter
is the Grace Which is the Mean Between the Two and Is Especially Accommodated to
Us.
Quoting from Chapter 6 on the nature of Jupiter:
This is why the Greeks call Jupiter life [referring to the Etymology of Zeus] and the
cause of life. The astrologers declare that he also has power over the animal spirit, saying
that Jupiter is useful for philosophy and discovering truth, and for religion. So also Plato,
when he says that philosophers spring from Jupiter (note: was Plato speaking of the
planet Jupiter or the mythological God?). Homer also signified this, when he said,

expressing an opinion of the ancients, the mind of men is of such a quality as the father
of the gods and men brings upon them from day to day.'
He goes on to contrast the role of Sun and Mercury in the role of mind and intelligence.
My point is that the use of mythology in astrology began much earlier than the 20th
century. Though it may be fair to say that they manner in which some modern astrologers
use myth in the practice of astrology would not likely be recognizable to earlier
generations.
Ok. Back to the meant of the article!

Chris Brennan says:

March 9, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Point taken. One might also point out that the mythology of the gods did have a bearing
on the delineation of the planets in the Mesopotamian and Indian traditions. Still, as far as
the western tradition is concerned, it seems like the focus of the majority of the authors,
especially in the Hellenistic tradition, was not on deriving the significations of the planets
directly from the mythology of the gods that they were named after. That this approach
appears to be conspicuously absent was kind of a surprise to me when I first began
studying Hellenistic astrology, because it is often taken for granted in the modern period
that this was a common practice in the ancient world, or that it lies at the very foundation
of all of the significations of the planets. I guess that this was the main point of the article
when I wrote it originally.

sunrunner says:
March 9, 2008 at 12:48 pm
The lack of explicit mythological materialin the hellenistic is curious. I have found
myself wondering, perhaps, that it wasnt necessary. What we call the mythological
world-view was so pervasive (that is, it was embedded in The worldview of the time) that
it simply wasnt necessary. For instance, the word Aphrodite wouldve about said it all.
No need to delineate the symbolism of the star of Aphrodite.
Another thought: many of Platos writings are riddled with mythological material. I am
thinking particularly (inspired by Botticellis painting I suppose!) of his
comparison/relationship between Aphrodite Ourania and Pandemos in the Symposium.
Then of course there is the day/night star cycle (Innana/Ishatar) allegorized in the
Gilgamesh epic.
These and other myths wouldve common knowlege. Temples enshrining this pagan
world view were literally everywhere in the Hellenistic world. So no need for a Liz
Greene book to illustrate the parallel between a planet and a deity?

Chris Brennan says:

March 9, 2008 at 1:07 pm
It is possible that this world view was so pervasive as to not require explicit elaboration at
the time, but I would still expect to see some sort of direct link in the sources, aside from
some of the occasional poetical allusions made in Dorotheus and maybe Manilius. Maybe
my own assumptions here are faulty though.
The Mesopotamian link is important though because there appears to have been a
deliberate attempt to assign certain Greek gods to each of the planets in a way that
deliberately mimicked the Mesopotamian assignments. So, the case could be made that
some of these associations were just carry overs from a period in which the Greeks didnt
really have much of an astrology of their own, and the associations with certain gods
were done deliberately in order to reflect the Mesopotamian assignments, rather than the
Greek assignments developing organically on their own or what have you. Although, that
doesnt really detract from their value or answer the question of their possible astrological
usage in the later horoscopic astrological tradition. So yeah.
Astrology Blog The astrological use of mythology says:
March 19, 2008 at 11:17 am
[] good use of them. Chris Brennan, a recent graduate of Kepler College, is one of
these and he has a new article up on his site questioning the use of mythology in
astrological counseling. He writes: While the []
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